Missing man found dead

death ruled an accident

Coroner: He fell down Richland bank, was trapped, asphyxiated.

May 14, 2004|By Pervaiz Shallwani and Michael Duck Of The Morning Call

A man who was missing for five days was found dead Wednesday night near a storage trailer behind the Richland Township used car dealership where he worked.

The death of John Ziegler, 58, was accidental, the Bucks County coroner ruled.

Ziegler had lost consciousness, slipped down an embankment and become trapped in a position that made it difficult for him to breathe, Coroner Joseph Campbell said. Because of a heart condition, Ziegler couldn't free himself and died of asphyxiation.

He lay at the bottom of the embankment between Ryan Family Auto and a scrap yard along the southbound lane of Route 309, Richland police said.

"It was kind of unusual where he was found," said Police Chief Larry Cerami.

Ziegler had slipped and landed in a precarious position with his leg caught in stairs near the trailer, Campbell said. The embankment is a steep 6-foot drop behind Ryan Family Auto.

After an autopsy Thursday night, Campbell said Ziegler died the night of May 7 or the next morning, Saturday.

The coroner is awaiting results of toxicology tests.

Ziegler was last seen May 7 and was reported missing Saturday, Cerami said. Police are interviewing people who had seen him before he disappeared.

An employee at Ryan Family Auto said she was walking through the parking lot to the scrap yard when she found Ziegler's body around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Ziegler had been working for Ryan Family Auto since August, said his daughter, Mary Lewis. He had been living in Quakertown.

A retired Philadelphia police officer, Ziegler had been suffering from depression and heart troubles, Lewis said. He became depressed after his wife, Mary, died of a heart attack in March 2001.